Hollerin’ Back ya’ll!

Hi, sugar-boogers! I have missed you. Since you’ve I’ve been gone (Kelly Clarkson?), I have been trying to comment on your blogs of interest- sorry if I’ve been so terribly unfriendly & distant. I want to feel the love again. I feel it for you; can we share it?! I also had my Spring Break & just laid-low. I went to the beach to get my tan on (& keep the blonde-ness up!), hung out with some friends, started running more, did some quality yoga (7 more classes on my magical pass!) & only worked for 2 of the days. I didn’t blog. So, I must have done something!

On this perhaps lucky day of St. Pat’s, I found a dollar– HOLLER!

 

I also got a free sample in the mail- anyone can request one & you can send them to other people’s addresses, too, to “Feel the Good!” Guess which one I tried first?!

 

It was an Emergen-C!!!

*ATTENTION: will the REAL ORANGE POP please stand up?!

 

^ There’s my substitute for the “pop-ness” that made me Orange in the 1st place! Deliciously carbonated & chemical-free!

Other meals? Here’s a sweet potato gnocchi with Vodka cream sauce, green beans & a Boca Italian sausage (I bought everything & cooked/heated it myself. This is not homemade, as much as I wish I were just that good!):

 

snack: totally digging those Annie’s Bunny Grahams! Here they are with vanilla ice cream & strawberries:

meal: whole wheat pita with avocado, hummus, cheese & veggies (tomato, sprouts, lettuce); along with a Sunshine  Garden Herb burger & roasted veggies  (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, onions & tomatoes):

   

Wallaby yogurt (Banana-Vanilla) with cinnamon & sunflower seeds (I love this brand- great flavor, texture & fun flava’s!):

I had an Indian packaged meal, too, from Tasty Bite: Kashmir Spinach. My awesomely-active-&-delicious-food-eating friend from Gliding Calm has eaten & reviewed this meal twice  here and here! …so I’ll let her reviews take the stage, because I agree that the “bulking with veggies” is necessary. I added green peppers, onions & eggplant & ate it with pita bread:

   Tasty Bites! (but not pretty-lookin’)

Another International meal I’ve made came from this cookbook:

 My nutritionist is Israeli & she lent it to me, noting some of her favorite (vegetarian) recipes… I made a Chickpea-Eggplant-Tomato stew & I added wheat berries & ate it with a pita with buttah’:  < There it is!

IF YOU’RE STILL READING, thank you!!! I’m sorry for ginormous posts- this is what I get for being away for so long. I find it daunting when I don’t post for a while because then I have to make up for all that lost time! I tried to keep the comments short, though. Message me if you have questions or sum’thin!

…a few more:

 

^ wrap on a locally-made pita (don’t think it’s whole-wheat, but I do know it’s soft & short ingredient list!) stuffed with veggies & hummus (there may or may not have been more- I don’t remember, but it was tastttyyy!)

In order for me to get excited again about blogging (which I am! But, you know, it’s the whole “here’s-what-I’ve-been-up-to-lately” thing…), I made a different kind of oat breakfast. I’ve read about people putting an egg or egg whites in their oats, but I’ve never done it. I always sort of think it’ll scramble. Today I added one egg white at the end of cooking my oats (half oat- bran & half –meal), plus pumpkin, walnuts, s’milk & golden raisins: 

 < see the little white-flecks? Any advice to make it more “custard-y” without actually baking it?! It was good, but I really didn’t taste much of a difference… oh well, maybe I missed something & will have to re-visit this technique!

ONE MORE THING: If anyone can tell me what this is, you get 10 points!

*HINT: I got it fresh from my local produce market, but you can also get it pre-packaged. It’s more of a “European” thing, I’d say. (It’s not just a plastic bag– what’s on top of that-there bag?!) Have fun!

Oh, & if anyone’s missing a folder, I know where it might be:

I’m working on some interview questions for a select few- thanks for those of you who volunteered! I’ll get-chya thinking soon enough!

What’s your Choice?

Before I begin, I can’t help but show you the cuteness I’ve been dealing with at home. I’m not complaining, though!

   < while Jasper has a ball, Tucker seems to have put himself in jail. His little brother annoys him sometimes. (True in humans, too, maybe?!)

We come across soo many choices throughout the day, in ever-single-aspect of life. Here, I’m actually asking your opinion. There’s no wrong answers here, so be bold! 

SO– I’ve been thinking about a new theme. Even a new… name?! I don’t know how I feel about being “Miss Orange Pop” since I’ve cut out pop AND especially DIET pop! Maybe I can make it seem that I’m POPPING (like, popcorn) with excitement & abundance for life?

Potential Themes/Ways to Blog:

• Centered around TEA. With this, I would have a “tea of the day,” perhaps (since I drink it daily & mix it up, anyway). I could give you the quote that is often on the tea bag string (like in Yogi & Good Earth teas) & ruminate about it. My logo with “Peace/Coffee” is great, but I’ve given up the coffee part!
• How can I add the “Worth Ravin’ About” title in my posts more? Do I RAVE about new products I’ve found? Too many bloggers do “product reviews”, & while I appreciate it, I don’t want to be in the background with my own ravings…
• Dogs. I have them & love them. I don’t want to blog about dog-food, though. Maybe I can make my own & blog about how the dogs enjoy it. This may be a bit far-fetched (har. har. fetched?)
• The way I’m “popping” back to health. Gaining a bit of weight & strength, but also gaining my LIFE back. I don’t want to morph into an “ED-blog” though.
• Do you want to see a daily-life post every week (or day, or once-and-a-while)? What I do, what I eat, who I am… suggestions?
• Recipe tab- how do I make one?
• Things I see & have happen to me. For example, at work, (it’s a health-food store) there are SO many, er, different people I come across, each with a different story. It’s comical sometimes, but sometimes I learn a lot. 
• Movies– I love watching them & quoting them. Do I speak to you in movie-quoted language?! (sometimes I wonder if I’d speak much, if it weren’t for movies!)
• SUGGESTIONS/comments/votes are very much welcome!!! New header, tag-line, etc?

What do YOU want to see more/less of & have changed here?

How did YOU come up with the basis/idea/theme/name of YOUR blog?!

Thanks. Ya’ll ROCK! I’ll update my BlogRoll because I’m getting new readers! Leave your e-mail & website, if you’d wish!

Beginning to look a lot like…

the Holidays (to not be religiously-biased) 

…even though the high will be 80 degrees on Christmas morning…

So, for my homemade gifts, I’ve decided against giving out the “Almond Joy” granola because I tasted it and it tasted… burnt. No one wants that, no matter how bad they were this year!!! I woke up yesterday morning on a mission: better granola, & something else homemade. What, may you ask? How very trendy of me to make biscotti!!! I looked up some recipes from V’con and other cookbooks and sort of varied it to my liking. I came out with my own, OrangePop variation! It’s fabulous, if I do say so myself! Healthy + Vegan + Delicious = a winning combination! 

For my 1st trick, I present…. GRANOLA:

^ this was the best, yet! I added nuts and dried fruit but I added the sliced almonds during the last 5 or so minutes because that’s where I got, um, *burned* last batch! Good move, me!

I packaged them like this, afterall:

 with a little tag with the ingredients, added later. I used mostly organic ingredients from my health-food store (aka work) so people will know they’re adding wholesome goodness to their innards! 

I also made a ginger-sunflower seed version that was great, too!!!

I shall post these recipes, okay?!

For my next trick, I reveal… BISCOTTI:

and I packaged them all differently, like this:

 I gave one to my uncle and he didn’t want to choose one because he didn’t want me to waste the “gourmet wrap job” on lil’-ol’-him! HA, it’s wax paper… and ribbon…

* I will post the recipe, because it was original when it was finished, and not exactly from any book or recipe I looked up! *

Anywho, amongst all the baking and the house smelling ab-so-lutely divine, I also baked up a cake because my grandparents came over for dinner to see the house all decorated purrty for the holidays. It was a suuuper-easy recipe my mom had, so I whipped it up real quick. It was a lemon bundt cake with a cinnamon-sugar swirl. Here’s it in the making:

…and the final product:

^ Do you see what I see? A lil’ bit of me, OP looming in the background?!

mmMmmMmm… orange soda…

One of these days I’m going to post a photo of the BEST part of our Christmas decorations. I’ll reveal that later. But now, here was our dining atmosphere last night:

HAPPY & HEALTHY HOLIDAYS 😀

Tree-huggin’ Christmas gift

Last night, I went home to find a package from my friend Bama filled with goodies like Clif and Kashi bars, Sport beans, a funny Christmas card and Chris Carmichael’s book Food for Fitness to “Eat Right to Train Right” because I’d love to run more and even compete again, but want to make sure I have my bases covered, as far as good sport nutrition! THANKS BAMA- you’re GRRRR-REAT!

Last night I felt like baking. With all these awesome bloggers making cookies and other yummy treats this time of year, even though I’m getting sweets, I still want to contribute. i thought about something original. Then, I thought something homemade and totally OrangePop-ish would be the best! Soooo, I came out with 2 varieties of…

GRANOLA!

While The Santa Claus was on TV, I just sort of looked up recipes, and then played around and made my own anyway. My 1st attempt I tried a variation of “Almond Joy” except later I realized I should have added cocoa powder for the chocolate part…oh, well!

The 2nd one, I added more dried fruit and nuts and… wow, even more of a winner!

I put them in  tubs.

I know there’s a niftier idea than plastic baggies to give them in (I still want to make more varieties, but I was getting sleepy!) **Any suggestions??** They’re very much welcomed!

Would you believe that they contain no oil? It’s true. I may post the recipe I used, if they’re hits, or if I get an influx of requests.

…until then, THERE’S ONLY A FEW MORE SHOPPING DAYS LEFT ‘TIL CHRISTMAS! EVERYONE BE HAPPY AND LOVING 😀 and especially, show it if you feel it!

Wii would like an update!

Friends, acquaintances, and beyond,

I apologize for my absence. While I’ve been away from the blogging world, here’s a bit what I actually have been up to:

• Playing wii! I created my own “mii” character (with her cute little orange dress, blonde curls and blue eyes!) I’ve played tennis, so far… but I popped my shoulder. Oh yes, athlete-extraordinairre! Take me to the Olympics!

 

And my mom beat up on me:

• Which means, yes, I’ve been watching those Olympics. A-ma-zing! Congrats to all those who were able to compete and to all those hopeful-Olympians: if you’re even considered, you’re great, too! What strength and work athic they must have!
• Playing volleyball. I’ve always looked up to Misty May (now May-Treanor) on the beach, but especially during her indoor volleyball days at Long Beach State University. I’ve been to the setter‘s camp, where she was made into one of the greatest indoor setters of all time! I had a great shot to be on that level, (maybe?) but stopped, due to stress from the sport, losing my passion. Bummer. But my sister has an alumni match this weekend at her college and hasn’t played since graduating in May, so I’ve been playing. At first, I was nervous and a bit embarrassed. I think I’ve given my vball days a rest because I was afraid how I wouldn’t be able to do it anymore and I’d be too weak, or something. This time, I allowed it. I’ve taken almost 2 years off!!! Anyway, it didn’t take that long to get it back. We played for probably 30 minutes, twice, and I noticed a huge difference from beginning, to the end, correcting silly mistakes I would have never made before, but remembering how it feels the right away, and the wrong way. I love volleyball again!

  < Misty May, as an indoor player!

• Established my favorite salad dressing! Thank you, Annie’s Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette, with Chamomile! I finished the bottle… waited a couple of days to get another, as it’s only at my work, not the general Albertson’s/Publix/Target stores by me! Like that V8 commercial, I felt lacking on salads (though I got other veggies) without it… *donk!* should’a had a V8!

 

• Working. I’ll cut my hours next week, as I… (see next)
• Signed up for classes at the college! Starts Monday, the 25! When I moved to Portland, I had every intention of staying long enough to gain residency and going to school out there. Well, I didn’t stay long enough, so it’s almost been 2 years with no school. I miss it, I really do! I’m excited to get back at it. I’m taking 16 hours, including a lab. Just general classes to get my requirements out of the way. I’m living at home, as it’s pretty close to campus and I’ll be working, so I’m excited, also, to be a busy-bee!
• Learned that my bloode test labs came back and the result said that I am not gluten-intolerant like I thought. Which is good. And I’m eating glutenous products again. But I’m still having tummy issues. My doc says I may have some other malabsorption problem, and I should see a GI specialist! Hmmm…
• I went to a raw restaurant with some co-workers! It’s new and I actually had the owners come through my line one night before it opened with a cart full of bananas and zucchini. The menu is all raw, vegetarian, and/or vegan. I decided on the zucchini spaghetti, after debating between that and the pesto zucchini spaghetti, which was a special. It was all raw. Tasted awesome! It was saerved with ground-up nuts, which tasted “cheesy!” Amazing! haha, but everyone at the table got something different, and I got to try the raw pizza! The “Real Deal” on their menu is one of their specialties, but no one got it… oh, well, next time! I sort of feel like Erica with her Candle Cafe escapades, because I want to go back, but know it’ll break my bank account if I keep it up!!! It’s just not that common to find such a veg-friendly restaurant, other than merely pasta/salad/(?)! It was great, and filling, and like I was eating, well, spaghetti! The sauce was nice, too: a mix of sun-dried and fresh tomatoes, with veggies!

• Reading My Sister’s Keeper. Still. I love it! I can’t wait for the movie, in 2009!
• I saw The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 with my sister. Loved it! Let’s just all go to Greece, because we want to! Easy-Peasey!

*Phew* Okay, you’re pretty much caught up on the recent life of lil’ ol’ me: Miss Orange Pop!

Sisters, Events & A Symptomatic Quest!

So, I’ve got a lot to catch up on!

1st of all, I have got to give a “shout-out” to Luna Bars! The other day, I was making my way home from Target, stopped at a light, and there was a homeless man with a sign that read, “Please Help- Hungry!” I just bought a PB Cookie flavor Luna (99 cents! I had to!) and know miserable it is to be hungry, so I rolled down my window and gave him the bar. I realize Luna’s are geared toward women, but this man had no idea! All he knew was he liked peanut butter and he was hungry! And, he was very appreciative, which was nice. So, thank you to Luna! I felt good about this deed.

Soo, Sister 2 is home from working volleyball camps, with a friend. She’s been talking about dying her hair dark for a while now. Also, getting a tattoo. My parents are supportive of doing what you want to do, but they can’t get past thinking a tattoo is, in any way, classy. I say, do what you want to do. She’s paying for it, both with her money, and her life-long decision with her body! One day, while I was away from the house, dog-sitting (and watched one of my favorite movies, Love Actually…even though it’s a Christmas-sy movie and it’s the end of July!), her and her friend scheduled an appointment at an Aveda salon. I get home, she gets home, and she’s DARK! We’re both naturally blonde, and she’s tried to go strawberry-blonde before, but that didn’t turn out so well (another ORANGE POP, in a different sense!). She did that by herself, with a dye-kit, so she wanted it professionally done. Fair enough. Here she is, still beautiful and dark-haired. Her scalp is even dark. It looked reddish-brownish-purplish, but I know it will die (dye!) down!

The lighting is okay on this, but she likes it, and I like it. So glad it’s off her mind. Seriously, she collected many, many magazine cutouts of colors she was debating with, which were all the same to me!

Here’s her beautiful friend and former volleyball teammate, giving Tucker some love:

The next day, while I’m at work, my uncle biked over to have lunch with me on my break! So nice! I used my discount, but he paid… fair?! Well, I get a text-message from Sister 2 saying, “Guess what?!” (what?) “I got a tattoo!” Niiiice. Here is her “Peace Dove“:

It’s brown, if you can’t tell. Tattoo #1, and she gets it on her ribs– ow!

In other news, I’ve been having terrible stomach pains, so I’ve done a lot of research about it and paid attention to possible culprits, and you know, I’m not so excited about what I believe it is: Gluten Intolerance (aka Celiac Disease). I have many of the symptoms, which are:

• weight loss
• decreased appetite
• bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, pale + foul-smelling stool
• fatigue, weakness, lack of energy
• bruise easily
• vitamin/mineral deficiencies (vit. K) –> don’t know for sure about this one!
• hypoglycemia –> I’ve sort of felt this way, but unsure
• hair loss
• lactose intolerance
• tooth discoloration or loss of enamel
• canker sores inside mouth
• unexplained anemia –> don’t know
• bone or joint pain
• missed periods, infertility, miscarriages (well, I’m missing periods)
• behavior changes, depression, irritability

(Sorry for TMI on some of these) It’s a multi-system, multi-symptom disorder and symptoms really vary! It’s kind of unknown how it starts, but it can happen anytime in one’s life and be triggered by things like stress, surgery, viral infection… Ah, very mysterious to me!

I’ve been eating a lot of just fruits, veggies, soy products, etc, but I have been feeling fatigued, so I added more grains to my diet. Remember when I made those Chickpea Cutlets that I raved about so much?! I used whole wheat flour and my appetite was shot, and my tummy hurt. Then, that night, I had whole wheat pasta and even my new Annie’s Woodstock dressing contains wheat! I felt myself “skimping” on solid calories and added more grains. 2 nights ago, I had some awesomely delicious Thai dumplings. Oh, I love Thai! Grains + whole wheat flour. Ouch.

 

Then, I looked at my day’s worth of food from yesterday and noted my intense stomach pains, and I contribute these guys to my discomfort:

-Breakfast:  

fruit and PB&J on some whole grain + oatmeal bread

-Lunch was out (with Sister 1), and I had a sandwich on whole wheat bread and coleslaw.

-Dinner included some bean balls, which I made with whole wheat flour to bind them.

I was in dire pain for the rest of the night, and even when I woke up this morning. I wasn’t hungry, but by the time I was, I didn’t know what to make that would feel good to me. I’ve done a lot of reading and researching about gluten-free diets, and noted quinoa is okay. This morning, I went on a bike ride with my aunt and we got rained on, so afterward, I wanted something warm and comforting. I was hungry, but didn’t know what to eat!!! I’d picked up some soup the other day at work, after hearing a customer through my line rave about it, so I bought it. I went on the company’s website and it is, in fact gluten-free, but contained rice starch… rice is, indeed, gluten-free, but I’m learning. “Starch” is a word to look out for on labels. I know that foods are wheat-free if they’re gluten-free, but not always gluten-free if they say they’re wheat-free. Wow. I’m going to be holding around a list of “yes” and “no” foods/ingredients for a while until I feel comfortable. When I went into the meal, I was hungry, but my tummy was hurting. Afterward, my stomach pains disappeared! Magic! I had some Cashew-Carrot-Ginger soup over quinoa, topped with carrots, cashews and pumpkin spice (which has ginger + cinnamon!). Very good!

Well, well. I have a lot of photos for you in this post, and a lot of news. If anyone has any tips or anything like that, regarding Celiac Disease, I’d love to hear about it! I’ll be doing some more research and hopefully I’ll see the doctor soon! Is there a test he can do to tell me whether or not I am, in fact, gluten intolerant? I’ve read to not get rid of gluten in my diet before I’m diagnosed, but how long can I go on in intestinal pain?! I’m going to stay positive about this, because I can hurt or help myself on this one, and I’ve got to get educated and in-tune with myself if I want to help!

I speak with honest GARLIC breath!

Why, hello, my lovely long-necked friend! I saw this at the store and had to try it! Why? WHY NOT?! Yes, it is diet, but it still tasted like I melted an orange creamsicle in my mouth! I felt like I was in the 50’s at the soda fountain. Oh, a twist on my beloved orange pop! Too bad I don’t have a juke box and I wish I drank it with a straw, but now I think of it…

To back-track, I made some famous Chickpea Cutlets from V’con for lunch today. I also had Emerald Kale Salad from the deli at work, which was excellent. One bite into the cutlets and I said, “OHHH YEAH!” I made a spin off of some mustard sauce, which I could never in a million years replicate, because I just sort of put some of this in, and some of that in… improvisation! From what I remember, it had some mustard powder, Braggs, Wasabi powder, garlic, Agave nectar, some flour to thicken it… I don’t know for sure, but it was garlicky, tasty, and delicious, all together! I was very satisfied, can you tell?! The kale salad was garlicky, too, so afterward, I sort of felt like I had just eaten the entire bulb of garlic! Ha! (Jasper and Tucker did not want to speak to or kiss me afterward!)

Isn’t my mini-whisk the cutest?!

So, I went to the mall after that, because I have a few gift cards and I love a good sale, but nothing caught my bargaining eye, so I left and picked up my liquified-creamsicle and some decaf coffee (Cinnamon Hazelnut, thank you) and went home. I really wasn’t hungry for dinner. 4 hours later, can you believe it?! Usually my body is saying, “FEED ME!” every 3 hours or so, but I wasn’t hungry! I was, however, in the mood to cook. After going through my recipe books and taking stock of what I would fancy in my head, I decided I would eat a good, full, meal. And it would be tasty! I made a spin off of Pasta de la California in V’con (hmm, Pasta de la Madam Orange Pop?!), with some spicy Bar-B-Que tempeh, and a side-salad with Annie’s Woodstock dressing! How have I not known about this beauty-of-a-dressing before?! Loved it! Props to Annie and her employees! Again, I have garlic breath, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I have to be honest here. I’ve been dreaming all today when I would sneak in some exercise, other than walking around the mall. I haven’t been feeling as strong lately and it’s been probably a week since I’ve hit the gym. But, I have been walking, biking, running (minimally) and working recently. And, some more honesty for you, I’ve been feeling a bit tired, frail/thin-feeling. This is not a good feeling for me because I am usually full of energy, happy, warrior-like (yes, me, Orange Pop, Warrior Princess!)… so I knew I needed to eat and eat I did! I feel like sometimes I look like a little girl, or worse, a little boy! You know what I mean? So, here I type, full, sleepy and a bit uncomfortable, but I will be kind to myself because I’ve been not-so-kind in the past, if ya know what I mean.

So there’s honesty for ya! I promised myself and my parents I’d take great care of myself while they’re away, and always! That’s a gift everyone should let themselves have!

A hodge-podge of Ravings!

I’ve been an absent blogger for a while because my sister stole my camera cord and I wanted to post some pictures… sorry!

I’ve tried a few V’con recipes! My first one was sort of an improvisation of a recipe… the Quinoa-Pineapple-Cashew Stir-fry. I didn’t have pineapple, so I just subbed in lemon and lime juice and had no fruit-bits in it. The taste was okay, but maybe I should stick to the real one yesterday. I snapped a picture, anyway… along with some orange pop, of course 🙂

 

It seems like I’ve been working quite a bit lately and I’ve been a bit tired. I managed to get 2 days off in a row last week, though, since I picked up a Sunday shift, so I went to visit my sister, went shopping and had lunch with her one of the days. That same night, since I’m dog-sitting at a house on the beach, I invited my parents over for dinner and relaxing! They loved it! It wasn’t a problem that I was running so behind on my plans, because they just enjoyed being at a serene and tranquil water-atmosphere! I love being by water… there’s something very peaceful about it. SO- I broke out my V’con and made some super-spicy Black Beans in Chipotle Adobo Sauce. I used real chipotles, not canned, and I wasn’t sure what the “Adobo sauce” was, but I managed. I think I underestimated the heat, because I kept mincing more peppers! Oops! I served them on top of the Spiced Sweet Potatoes to off-set the spiciness of the beans and sauce. I also had some cool avocado and tomatoes on the side, and sauteed zucchini, squash and peppers! YUM! To drink, there was plenty of Pomegranate Lemonade to be had.

Dessert was excellent, too. At work, everyone’s been raving about this new coconut milk ice cream. It’s soy and dairy free (vegan, in fact- Purely Decadent brand), and totally delicious! I got the vanilla kind because they were out of coconut, and it tastes like vanilla, but it’s like you can’t pin-point the flavor… what is it?! Oh yeah, coconut! I picked up some fresh kiwi and blackberries and heated some semi-mashed berries and served it on top. Y-U-M! So fresh and summer-y!

Okay, so am I a real vegetarian?! I got a much-needed and long-awaited pedicure (soo nice, sitting in those massage chairs). My color: “Cajun Shrimp.” It was just too cute to pass up because of the name, which is how I determine whether or not a color is worthy, many times! If it doesn’t have a name, I’m not going to pick it! Anyway, I went to the beach and snapped a picture of my sandy, shrimpy toes!

Sorry for those who have something against feet!

Work today until close, unfortunately, so I’ll have to miss my family’s dinner celebration, again with my dad’s side at our house. Oh well, I guess more meat for them!

Ah, summertime!

It sure is summertime in FL! School is out in this county, but since I don’t go to grade-school, it almost feels like I’m always on break! Yeah… still looking for that job and waiting for fall semester for college! Kelsey (my oldest sister, who lives in NJ now, but comes home frequently!) and I went to the beach– it was a scorcher! I went in the gulf for the 1st time this year, actually and it felt fabulous! I saw some dolphins, too, which is still cool everytime I see it! Also, summer in FL means clouds and/or rain EVERY afternoon and, without fail, the clouds rolled in and we left after only over an hour lounging at the beach. I still got some sun, even with my SPF! No cancer for me! 😎

When I got home, I was feeling like making a GOOD sandwich! I love-love-love tempeh and have had a tempeh-Reuben and tempeh-chicken salad before, but we had no sauerkraut and I didn’t feel totally adventurous, so I made this:

 

Toasted honey-wheat bread, sundried-tomato hummus, lettuce, tomato and bell peppers with pan-fried soy-marinated tempeh. A mish-mash of flavors, but very good! It was a little dry with the toasted bread, so I had some extra hummus to lather each bite in! Delish! Of course, I had some orange popbecause, well, I love it and I’m thirsty. It’s like FL’s new OJ… OP? OS? OK! I don’t even say “POP!” That is such a northern thing… it’s “Coke!” No matter what flavor…

a: “You want a coke?”

b: “Sure.”

a: “What kind?”

b: “You have orange?!”

a: “PSH, YEAH!”

…but you can’t expect to have a blog called, “Orange Coke!” How does that sound?!

Have I said that I LOVE summer and I LOVE tempeh?! It was very good and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some sauerkraut… however gross that may be, this girl likes that combo!

I am a vegetarian and have been for over 2 years, I think… I am the only one in my family that chooses to live this way permanently, but the rest of them are learning how to make substitutes for me. I also cook once, twice, or more each week and it’s usually a meat-free dish, though sometimes I have someone prepare, say, the poor little chicken, while I do the rest.

Tonight I made dinner. I have loved some of Rising Moon’s products, and I found some ravioli on sale, so I got 2 packages (each package SAYS it feeds 2, and there were 3 of us). That’s something I love to… a good sale! No matter what it is, I’ll take a double-look if it’s on sale! Well, good thing I did with these babies! I mixed the ravioli with some lightly sauteed zucchini, yellow squash, green beans and cherry tomatoes and tossed it with olive oil and this parmesan Italian blend seasoning. That, and a salad (with raspberry walnut vinaigerette) and dinner was made! Oh, my mom made apple crisp for dessert!
Gosh, I had some gooooood eats today 🙂